


The Dancing Angel Outtakes

by ginervamariechaseeverdeen



Series: The Dancing Angel [2]
Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Gen, Growing Up, Nessie - Freeform, Outtakes, Post-Breaking Dawn, dance, life - Freeform, one shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 13:42:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4350995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginervamariechaseeverdeen/pseuds/ginervamariechaseeverdeen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These are outtakes from my story, The Dancing Angel. It takes place after Breaking Dawn and is about Nessie, her family, and her life as a dancer. I suggest you read it first so that you understand these better, but you don't technically have to. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Perils of Shopping

**Author's Note:**

> Edward POV
> 
> italics are thoughts he hears

Once we were out of the girls' hearing range, I pulled over to the side of the road so we could discuss our game plan. Every year, Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper- since last year, myself as well- go out shopping for our girls the day before Valentines Day. Now, we just needed to figure out where we were going this year. We could all just split up now, but it would look odd if we just appeared in a store's parking lot out of nowhere- at least that's how it would appear to the humans. So, we needed to make a decision so I could drop everyone off wherever they need to go.

 

"Alright, where to?" I asked, since none of them were really thinking about it.

 

"Well, Eddie-boy, I'm getting Rosie some jewelry. So, to the mall!" Emmett announced.

 

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

 

"Fine **Edward** _,_ but I do need to go to the mall." _Wow, what's up with Mr. Grumpy-pants?_

_Son, all I have left to buy is a card for Esme, which I can get at the mall, so I will go and supervise Emmett_ , Carlisle thought.

 

"Alright, and Jasper?" I asked because his thoughts were still unsure.

 

"The mall is fine for me as well, but preferably Seattle instead of Port Angeles," he decided.

 

"Does Seattle work for everyone?" I asked.

 

After hearing their mental confirmations, I sped off to Seattle, my intended destination as well. I had placed an order at a jeweler there for a locket for Bella. I know she doesn't like me buying her gifts, but she has gotten better, and tomorrow is Valentines Day. Also, I have a feeling she will appreciate the significance of it, despite the price.

 

After dropping everyone off at the mall, I went to the jeweler's first. After parking my car, I headed inside the shop.

 

"Welcome! How may I help you today?" said an overly perky woman who appeared to be in her thirties. _Wow, he's attractive._

 

I quickly remedied her misplaced thoughts by saying, "Yes, I'm here to pick up something I ordered for my wife."

 

 _Ah, he's to young anyway_ , she mentally sighed. "What's your name?"

 

"Edward Cullen."

 

"Alright, let me go get that for you. Feel free to look around for a moment," she said, her perkiness reappearing.

 

I didn't bother looking, and she reappeared from the back seconds later holding a velvet rectangular box.

 

"Is this it?" she asked, opening it up to reveal the locket I had custom ordered.

 

"Yes, may I look at it please?" I asked. I wanted to be sure it was perfect for Bella. I had given them the pictures for it, so hopefully they turned out good.

 

"Of course," she said and handed me the box.

 

I examined the locket itself before opening it to see the pictures. It was perfect. On the left was a picture of Bella and I on our wedding day, and the right side held a picture of the two of us and Nessie in the meadow. Bella had decided that we ought to take some family pictures a while back, so the three of us had gone to the meadow and brought along a camera and tripod. We didn't want to bring anyone else since it was our special place, so Bella and I just took advantage of our speed to take the pictures, and surprisingly they all turned out quite well. This one was my favorite though. The pictures were both symbolic of our perfect forever. The first, our wedding, was the official start, and the second represented our family and the continuation of our perfect life.

 

"It's perfect, thank you." I told the woman.

 

"Good, and you prepaid, so have a nice day Mr. Cullen," she told me, handing me a bag for the locket.

 

"Thank you," I said, placing the box in it, and headed to my car.

 

My next stop was the Russel Stover shop. I wanted to get Nessie some of the classic Valentines Day chocolates since she loves sweets so much. As soon as I got there, I was overcome with the smell of chocolate. Ugh how people stand eating that stuff is beyond me. It doesn't smell too bad, but it’s all gooey and chunky. Yuck. Anyway, it doesn't matter because it isn't for me. It's for Nessie.

 

I walked inside and browsed around the small shop for a bit before finding a red heart shaped box with roses on the front filled with a variety of flavors. Perfect. I took it up to the counter where a teenage boy was working. By listening to his thoughts, I could tell he didn't care for his job, but he kept it decently hidden and maintained a nice demeanor.

 

"That will by $9.99. Would you like anything else?" he asked as he rang it up.

 

"No, that's all. Thank you."

 

"For your girlfriend?" He asked, making conversation, as I handed him my credit card.

 

"Actually no. They're for my daughter," I told him.

"Oh," he replied, shocked for a moment. _He's got a kid? I wonder if... Nah, none of my business._ "Have a good day," he told me, handing me the chocolate and my receipt.

 

"You too," I told him as I left. He was actually refreshingly polite compared to most people.

 

Well only two things left and one requires me stopping at the post office. So, to the flower shop. When I arrived, I walked in and browsed for a moment when a teenage girl wearing a green apron walked up to me.

 

"Hi, may I help you with anything?" she asked. _Oh my gosh he is soo cute! Maybe he's just shopping for his mom and not a girlfriend,_ she thought hopefully. _Even if he is, maybe I can convince him to forget her._

 

"No not at the moment," I told her. I really did not want to have to listen to her thoughts.

 

"You sure? Well if you need **anything** just let me know," she said as she winked at me and walked away.

 

Ugh, why did annoying girls have to fawn over me. I'm not interested nor will I ever be. Thankfully, her thoughts were occupied for the moment as she helped another customer. I walked around some more. Maybe I could get Bella some freesia? But I want something special. Are roses too cliche though?

 

"You still alright?" The annoying girl asked as she walked up behind me. Apparently the other customer didn't want her help either.

 

 _Ah man, look at him. He's gorgeous_ , she mentally sighed. _Maybe I can give him my number._

 

Okay this needed to stop. "Actually, yes, I could use your help. Do you think buying roses for my wife would be to cliche for Valentines Day?" I asked her.

 

 _Wife?! What, he's married?! How? Why? How old is he anyway?_ she thought extremely surprised. _Ugh I guess I still have to help him._

 

"No, roses are fine. Do you have a color preference?" she asked mechanically.

 

"Well, I understand that each color stands for something. Could you please explain them to me?"

 

"Sure," she sighed. "Red is for love, affection, bliss in marriage, and passion. Pink is for innocence, admiration and, beauty. Yellow is for joy and friendship. Orange is for enthusiasm and pride. Black is for sorrow and loss. And white is for purity, weddings, eternal love, and it also means I am worthy of you," the girl droned on, obviously parroting back a speech she had said many times before.

 

"I'll take a bouquet of red and white ones," I told her.

"You do know that's really contradictory," she told me.

 

"Yes," I assured her. I think both meanings fit Bella quite well though. Our marriage is blissful, and our love is passionate, but it is also eternal and pure.

 

"Okay then," she told me and began to select flowers.

_Wow, he's crazy. Doesn't he know that a white rose is the virgin flower and the red one is for desire and passion. They don't mix! Oh whatever._

 

Yes, I do know that, but I have my reasons. Reasons which this girl- who was reminding me more and more of Jessica- would never be privy to.

 

"Here you are," she said handing me the bouquet. "It's thirty bucks."

 

"Do you take credit cards?" I asked.

 

"Yeah. Right over here," she said rudely, indicating the cash register.

 

After I payed, I put Bella's bouquet carefully into my car and headed off to the post where I had one last thing to pick up, a bear for Nessie. I ordered her one of those gigantic valentines bears. The thing is four and a half feet tall! I just need to pick it up before picking up the guys at the mall. I didn't want FedEx to bring it to the house because Nessie would definitely see a giant box show up and be curious. Also, I doubt the delivery man could find our house. So, I had them ship it to the FedEx store in Seattle.

 

When I got there, there was only one other car out front. Good, it won't take long. I walked inside causing a bell above the door to ring. I walked up to the counter and got the man's attention.

 

"I'm here to pick up a package for Edward Cullen," I told him.

 

"Alright, let me look kid," he told me before walking into the back room.

 

" **You're** the guy with the giant one! That thing's huge!" he told me. "I'll need to see your ID."

 

I handed my driver's liscense to him. After examining it for a moment, handed it back.

 

"Alright, let me go get it. Do you want me to take it to your car? It's pretty huge," he asked me.

 

"Thank you sir, but I'll be fine," I told him. It wouldn't be a problem though I would have to pretend to struggle some to keep up the human charade.

 

"Alright kid, let me bring it out," he said before heading to the back room again. _Kid's probably going to need help once he sees how big this box is. I wonder what's in it?_

 

"Here it is," he announced, wheeling it out.

 

"Thank you," I told him and "struggled" to lift the box. "Could you get the door?"

 

 _Whoa! That kid is strong!_ Disbelief colored his thoughts. "Yeah, sure," he told me before quickly getting the door open.

 

"Thanks," I told him as I walked over to my car.

I set the box down for a moment, since he was still looking, so I could grab my keys. Then I opened the back door and shoved the box in before getting in and driving off to the mall. Nessie's going to love her bear. It is practically as big as she is.

 

When I got to the mall, I called Carlisle.

 

"I'm outside, are you all done?" I asked him.

 

"Yes Edward. We'll be out in a moment," he told me.

 

About two minutes later, the three of them appeared outside carrying a few bags. Carlisle sat in the passenger seat, and Jasper took the empty seat in the back.

 

"Edward, two questions. Why is there a gigantic box in my seat? What is it? And can I open it?" Emmett asked.

 

"Em that's three. Learn to count dude," Jasper told him.

 

"Yeah okay so what is it?" He asked again.

 

"It's a bear I got Nessie for Valentines Day. And yes, I suppose you will have to open it to fit in the back seat. So go ahead. Just don't damage it," I warned.

 

"Yay!" Emmett exclaimed as he ripped the box open and pulled out the giant bear. "Edward this is epic! Can I have one?"

 

"Just put the box in the trunk Emmett," I told him. "But be careful of Bella's flowers."

 

"Yes sir," he said sarcastically.

 

After putting the box in the trunk, he climbed into the car and sat the bear in his lap.

 

 _I shall call you Bob_ , Emmett thought.

 

"Emmett, it's Nessie's. you cannot name it. And do not ruin her surprise," I said as if talking to a six year old.

 

"Awe, but Bob is my BFF," Emmett insisted, hugging the bear.

 

Seeing him, a grown man, hugging that huge bear with that pitiful look on his face caused us all to crack up as I drove home.


	2. Talking with a Three Year Old

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter involves "the talk." Overall, it's not graphic, but if you don't feel comfortable reading it, feel free to skip it. A lot of it involves the awkwardness Bella feels at having to do this when Renesmee is technically three, but it does go into some actual details of girl stuff like periods. So yeah, this outtake is awkward but kind of funny, and I thought it would be interesting to write.
> 
> This takes place during the time covered in chapter 25 of The Dancing Angel.

Nessie’s rapid aging made for a very interesting parenting experience. Things most parents have years to experience and plan for came much sooner. Then again, most mothers have nine months to come to terms with having a baby rather than one month. Most of the time, it didn’t bother me too much that my baby was growing up so fast because I would get to have her forever. Today however, was different. Today I was wishing more than anything that I had an actual three year old instead of a three year old in the body of a thirteen year old with the mind of someone much older.

 

 

            One day when I was planning some of Nessie’s science lessons, I was skimming through a biology textbook, and a word caught my eye. I hadn’t thought about having a period or what it entails since I had become a vampire, but that day I had a thought. Physically Nessie was about the right age to start if she were human. She had blood running through her veins, but I wasn’t sure if her vampire side would mean my daughter wouldn’t have to deal with one of the worst parts about being a girl. I mentioned it to Edward that night after Nessie went to bed, and he admitted that he hadn’t thought about it either, which didn’t really surprise me. We decided that a talk with Carlisle was in order since he was the most familiar with Nessie’s biology.

 

            We went right over to the main house where everyone else was to talk with him, but the conversation was rather inconclusive. Since he had never tried to get a blood sample from Nessie to analyze—we still weren’t sure if a needle would even pierce her skin to draw blood—he didn’t know much about her inner workings. We couldn’t really contact Nahul and ask about his sisters’ experiences both since he lived so far away and probably wouldn’t know that fact about his sisters anyway. In the end, Carlisle said that it was quite possible, especially since she was growing, and that I should probably talk to her about it sooner rather than later. Edward and I agreed that I would talk to her the next day before heading back to our house.

 

            And that is what led to me preparing to give the talk to a three year old. No other mother in history has ever had to give the talk to her three-year-old daughter. Most moms get ten years or so before they even have to think about giving the talk. Yet here I was, sitting on Edward's and my bed, trying to decide how to go about this. I decided that the biology textbook that had gotten me started on this might be useful as a starting point. My own experience with the talk wasn’t very helpful since my mother spent the majority of it warning me about men and the perils of early marriage. Instead I thought about Nessie and how this all related to her life. I decided not to even bother with metaphors but to just get to it.

            The next day, everyone but Nessie and I left to go hunting for the day. After they left, I sat my daughter down on the couch in the main house and told her that I needed to talk with her.

 

            “About what Momma?”

           

            “Well, Nessie, its about a lot of things: growing up, changes, boys, and babies mostly.”

 

 

            “What does that have to do with each other? Are you finally going to tell me where babies come from instead of a stork? I mean, come on, I’m not a baby anymore. And if you are going to tell me, can you also explain why you were able to have me but Rosalie, Alice, and Esme can’t have babies?” she asked curiously.

 

 

            “Actually that is what I wanted to talk to you about. Now bear with me through this okay? If you have any questions, go ahead, but even if this gets awkward, just keep listening. Okay?”

 

            “Okay Momma,” Nessie said staring at me curiously. We had strictly monitored her reading material, so she hadn’t come across this yet, which made this conversation both harder and easier at the same time.

 

            “So, I’m going to start by talking about this in terms of humans. As girls and boys grow up, when they get to about ten or so, they start to go through something called puberty. This is when certain hormones become active and for girls, they grow breasts and their bodies go through some other changes so that they can have a baby some day.

 

            “Babies are made by a sperm which comes from boys getting fertilized by an egg which comes from the girl…” I started to explain and then pulled out the biology textbook, using the diagrams of the male and female reproductive systems to illustrate my points. And that was how I explained sex to my daughter who was technically three, physically about thirteen, and mentally older than that.

 

            “So, some day, you are going to meet a boy that you love and are attracted to, and all of this isn’t going to seem so gross anymore. But having sex is special when it is with someone you really love, and I know that both your dad and I hope that you decide to wait till you get married some day in the far far future. We both did, and our wedding night was very special.

 

            “But I’m sure you don’t want mental images of your dad and I so we’ll move on from that. When you have sex, there is a chance you can get pregnant, and there are ways to prevent this like condoms and birth control pills, but they aren’t foolproof.

 

            “Anyways, the female body has a way of telling you every month that you aren’t pregnant. This is called menstruation or your period, and it’s awful and can be pretty painful. The good part is I’m not sure if you are ever going to have to experience it, but just in case, I need to explain. Then I’ll get to why your aunts and grandma can’t get pregnant. So, each month, the uterus gets lined with blood and other things which act as nutrients for the potential baby, and each month your body releases an egg. Sometimes it’s more than one, which leads to twins, etc. So, if the egg doesn’t implant in the lining of the uterus, the blood and other stuff comes out, and that is a period. This is where pads and tampons come in. Pads go in your underwear and tampons go into your vagina, and they absorb the blood,” I said, handing her one of each from the boxes I had bought just in case. “Your period can last up to about a week and once it starts—if it even does for you—should happen around the same time every month. It also comes with abdominal cramps, which can hurt pretty bad, but painkillers are great for that.

 

            “So, yes it’s gross, and it may not be something you have to deal with, but if you ever see blood in your panties, that is what it is,” I explained all of this quickly and taking as few breaths as possible.

 

            “I really hope I don’t have to deal with that Momma. It sounds horrible,” Nessie moaned.

 

            “It is sometimes baby, but if you ever want to have a baby of your own, it is necessary. That’s why I was able to have you, because my body was still changing when I was human. As a vampire, I don’t change, so no more periods and no more babies, which is why Alice, Rose, and Esme can’t have kids.”

 

            “Oh…” was all Nessie said and I could tell she was thinking about this.

 

            “If you have any questions at all Nessie, I’ll do my best to answer them.”

 

            “So boys don’t have periods? That just doesn’t seem fair,” she muttered.

 

            “It’s just the way things are honey.”

 

            “Can I borrow that biology book Momma? I want to read more about the science behind it. And also, what does Carlisle think about my um menstrual cycle?” she muttered.

           

            “Sure Nessie,” I said handing her the book. “And he doesn’t know for sure, but since you are growing and changing and have blood in your veins, he said you very well could have to deal with it.”

 

            “Lovely,” she muttered sarcastically. “If I do, maybe it will stop when I stop growing,” she added hopefully.

 

            “Maybe,” I agreed.

 

            “So is that why everyone else left? They knew you were going to talk to me about this.”

 

            “Yep. But be glad they did. If Emmett were here this would have been a lot more awkward. And speaking of him, be prepared to finally understand a lot of his jokes now. They aren’t as funny as he thinks they are,” I sighed.

 

            “Well, at least I’ll get what he’s laughing about…” she said as her face began to screw up in disgust as she realized something. “Ew! Is that what you and Dad do at night while I sleep? Right by my room? Eugh! I demand a room far away from everyone else’s next house,” she said before picking up the textbook and heading towards the door.

 

            “I’ll let Esme know,” I said with a chuckle.

 

            “I’ll be in my room, trying to forget this whole conversation. Thanks. Bye,” she called, slamming the door behind her.

 

            Well, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, I thought to myself with a chuckle as I grabbed a book and began reading until Edward and the others got home.

 


	3. Bella at Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place sometime during the time covered in chapter 25 of The Dancing Angel.

“Bella, where’s my clean tights?” my little girl called from her bedroom where she was getting ready to go to her ballet class.

 

            “In the drawer where they always are sweetie,” I managed to call back after a few seconds.

 

Yes, Nessie was having to call me Bella in public now, but that was the first time she had done it when we were home with just our family around. It was odd hearing my baby girl call me by my first name. I was used to being her Momma, and I guess I still was since she was yelling at me about her clothes like most teenage girls, but still, loosing the title was hard.

 

“I found them Momma! I’ll be ready to go in a second,” she called back, and I began to breathe normally again. I hadn’t even realized I’d stopped.

 

Maybe it was just a slip up. After all, she had called me Momma in public two or three times now. I suppose it was better if she slipped up here rather than in front of people where it could compromise our secret, but still… I honestly hoped it was a slip up. I don’t think I could deal if she just stopped calling me Momma especially since I was already dealing with her abnormally short childhood.

 

“Let’s go,” Nessie said with a smile, skipping into the hallway of our little house off of the main one.

 

Since she was claiming to be thirteen, I still had to drive my baby to her dance lessons. I loved those times in the car with her, listening to music and just talking while I drove her to class, normally in the Volvo since our other cars were very ostentatious as Edward put it. I tried to always make the most of it since she would probably be claiming about sixteen next time we moved and would be able to drive herself to and from the studio, something I shuddered to think about.

 

After I dropped her off, I went straight home. Nessie had called me Bella again as she got out of the car since other girls and their mothers were in the parking lot, and it reminded me of earlier. I needed to talk to Esme. As the only other mother here, even if it wasn’t quite the same, maybe she could help.

 

“Esme?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen where she sat at the bar looking over plans for a house, maybe even our next one.

 

“What is it Bella?” she asked and turned to smile at me.

 

“Well, I wanted to talk to you since you’re kind of the only other mom I really can ask about these things.”

 

“Why don’t we go sit on the sofa,” she suggested, “and then you can ask me about anything you want. I would be happy to help, you know that.”

 

I followed here into the living room, and we sat down before I continued. “Well, I guess I’ll start with a question… I know that none of us are your biological children, but does it ever bother you that we don’t call you mom or anything?”

 

“You’re right Bella, it is a bit of a different situation since none of you are biologically mine, but no it does not bother me, and I’ll tell you why. True, I do love the rare occasion that one of you children calls me mom, but I know that Edward at least is older than I am. Also, you all do let me mother you a bit. I know that you all think of me as your mother in a way, even though you may not say it, and that is what is important to me.” She paused for a moment to let that sink in. “Now, would you tell me what brought this on?” she asked curiously.

 

“You know how Nessie has been working on calling Edward and I by our real names in public since she’s playing his sister now?” I asked getting a nod in response. “Well, today she called me Bella when she was asking where I had put her tights, and I don’t know, it just felt weird having her do that…” I muttered.

 

“Of course it does Bella. She’s your baby. Time wise, she is only about four years old, and sometimes you want her to be like a normal four year old. I completely understand. I’m sure it was just a slip since she has gotten so used to calling you that when others are around, but if she does it again, you are her mother, and you can remind her that it is fine to call you Momma while you all are home,” she suggested.

 

“You’re right,” I sighed. “I think I already knew that, but I just needed to here it from someone else to confirm it. Thanks Mom,” I said, leaning over to give Esme a hug before smiling at her.

 

“You’re very welcome dear,” she replied with a big smile, patting me on the shoulder before returning to the plans she had been working on before our talk.


	4. Just Agree to Try

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place in the time frame of chapter 26 of The Dancing Angel.

“Mamma,” Nessie said sweetly, sliding up next to me on the couch in our living room in Buffalo where I was sitting reading.

            I could tell from the tone of her voice that she wanted something, and I steeled myself to resist her pouty face and big doe eyes. Just last month she had convinced Edward and I that she should be able to get her drivers license since she was claiming sixteen now, so Edward had begun teaching her how to drive. And boy was that an ordeal. I couldn’t imagine what she could be asking for now.

            “Yes honey,” I replied, closing my book and setting it on the coffee table in front of me.

            “Well, I was wondering if maybe… you see… all my other friends have…” she said slowly, avoiding the actual question.

            “Get to the point sweetie,” I gently prompted.

            “IwantedtoknowifIcouldgetmyearspiercedplease?” she asked in one quick breath.

            “You want to get your ears pierced?” I asked a bit incredulous, wondering if I had somehow misunderstood her.

            “Um, yes,” she squeaked.

            “Absolutely not,” I replied firmly.

            “But why Momma?” she pleaded.

            “First off, we don’t even know if your ears can be pierced. And if they can’t, how would you suggest we explain that to the employee at Claire’s or wherever it is you want to have this done?”

            “No, I didn’t mean I wanted to go to the mall. You see, Grandpa has needles, obviously, and he could pierce my ears or try to, and then I could put earrings in,” she suggested.

            Her use of Grandpa rather than Carlisle let me know that she was laying it on thick and getting ready to pull out the big guns.

            “Please Momma, please. There’s no harm really. And if a regular needle doesn’t work, maybe we could coat one in venom,” she added almost as an afterthought.

            “No way. Not in a million years. You are not getting a needle with venom on it anywhere near you. Do you realize that it could kill you? You know vampire venom is deadly to Jake and the other wolves. And your genes are closer to theirs than ours from what Carlisle can tell. So no. Absolutely not,” I fumed. It was like she had no regards for her own self-preservation. “Why is this so important anyways?”

            “Because I think it looks pretty, and all my friends have pierced ears,” she mumbled, staring at the floor after my mini rant.

            “I don’t have pierced ears. Alice, Rosalie, and Esme don’t have pierced ears,” I replied.

            “Yeah, cause you never cared about that, Alice didn’t have the chance to, and Rosalie and Esme’s holes closed up when they changed. Rose showed me some pictures she was able to dig up from when she was human, and she had pierced ears then. Please Momma. Just agree to try. I won’t bring up the venom idea again, I promise. And if it doesn’t work the first try, then I promise I’ll never bring it up again. Can I just try though? Please?” she begged, giving me her best pouty look.

            “Well,” I sighed, giving in a little, “if you can convince your dad and Carlisle then I suppose you can try.”

            “Thank you Momma!” she exclaimed, squeezing me in a tight hug before popping up off the couch and running off to find Edward where he was playing Mario Kart with Emmett and Jasper in the media room upstairs.

            It didn’t take as much effort for her to convince Edward as it did to convince me, and Carlisle agreed on the condition that Edward and I were okay with this. So, the next day, Edward found a small pair of emerald earrings that had been his mothers and Carlisle set up his equipment to attempt this.

The strongest surgical needle that he could find from the hospital and the earrings had both been sterilized. Carlisle had Nessie lay down on the couch, and had her try to use the classic numb your earlobes with ice cubes trick. Her overheated body temperature melted the ice fairly quickly, Carlisle sterilized her earlobes, and Alice marked the spot on each one with a special pen. Now all that was left was to try and stick the needle in. We all stood around to watch with Nessie’s permission as Carlisle began to lower the needle toward her left ear, slowly at first and then quicker in hopes to make the potential pain shorter.

Right before the needle touched her ear, you could hear the entire room take a collective deep breath. And then, the needle bent. Apparently Nessie’s skin was as hard as the rest of ours. Carlisle was the first to start chuckling, and then the rest of us joined in.

“Seriously,” Nessie whined. “This isn’t funny guys.”

But when Emmett handed her the bent needle he had taken from Carlisle and proclaimed it a souvenir from her foray into rebellion and body piercing, a grin slowly spread on her face.

“Well Edward,” Alice said, “You never have to worry about your daughter coming home with a tattoo.”

            “Yeah, squirt, the matching friendship tattoos with Jacob are out now,” Emmett added jokingly.

            “Aw, darn,” Nessie replied, her smile growing even wider and joining us in our laughter.


End file.
